


From the earth to starbucks

by allofspace



Category: Psych (TV 2006)
Genre: Canon Compliant, M/M, S01E10, from the earth to starbucks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-02
Updated: 2020-09-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:01:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26254573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allofspace/pseuds/allofspace
Summary: Sort of an epilogue to season 1 episode 10 "from the earth to starbucks" where Lassiter is feeling down on himself and Shawn inexplicably goes out of his way to make him feel better, not wanting any credit or to have it help him in any way.
Relationships: Carlton Lassiter/Shawn Spencer
Comments: 8
Kudos: 96





	From the earth to starbucks

Carlton didn’t get drunk very often. He was partial to a nightly glass of scotch, but he sometimes forgot how good it felt to be drunk. Drinking alone and trying to forget his misery on the anniversary of his wife leaving him. His head was feeling fuzzy and his limbs were light and he was on his way to forgetting all of his worries. Of course, that’s when he heard Shawn Spencer’s voice. As if he needed any more torment today. His sober brain knew this was trouble, but that voice was very, very quiet under a thick, thick layer of vodka.

“Lassie! Is that you?” Shawn said, coming towards him.

It was difficult to focus his eyes on the squiggly body coming toward him. He needed to find something to focus on to stop himself from becoming too dizzy. His eyes finally landed on the hem of Shawn’s shirt. The polo shirt that was just a little too short for his torso, teasing Carlton constantly. And the man was always flailing his arms about, which lifted the shirt even more, so Carlton could see a tan strip of skin between the shirt and jeans, with the elastic of his underwear peeking out. 

Carlton gulped, forcing his eyes to move upward, to try and focus on Shawn’s face. He had that much of his survival instinct intact at least. Though to cover up his current train of thought, which mostly involved putting his hands all over Shawn Spencer, Carlton let his mouth run about all the stray thoughts that were caught up there. And oh god he talked about his ex-wife didn’t he? And the case he was struggling with. Though the details were foggy. 

The last thing he remembered was losing his balance, and hitting the floor with a thud, though luckily he didn’t feel a thing.

~*~

Carlton woke up with one of the worst headaches he’d ever had. This was no ordinary hangover, he thought as he put a hand to his forehead, regretting it immediately as the pain intensified. He sat up in his bed, forced himself to click on the light and check his face in the mirror. He had a dark red mark on his forehead and suddenly the night before came spilling back into his mind. 

The drinking, the falling, and the blabbing to Shawn Spencer in between. Carlton groaned and stopped just short of hitting his head off the wall, that would do him no favors right now. 

Stupid, awful Shawn Spencer and his ridiculous polo shirts. Carlton got ready for work, and prayed that Spencer and Guster wouldn’t show up today. 

And of course, when he arrived at work Shawn was there. Carlton was determined to ignore him as much as possible, and it surprisingly seemed to work. 

After that, he became absorbed in the case. Had he really asked Juliette to look into something? How had he forgotten? Maybe it was this head injury. Either way, he was finally getting somewhere with this case and it was making him feel like a new man. 

Carlton was no idiot. Even if O’Hara, Spencer, and Guster thought he wouldn’t notice all of their help and ridiculous lies, he wasn’t stupid enough to believe it. But he figured if they were going through all this trouble to help him, he’d let them believe whatever they wanted. 

He could tell Shawn wanted to tell him something about the poison, but that he couldn’t just come out and say it. Carlton almost admitted to knowing what was going on, just so he could figure out this last piece of the puzzle. But then Spencer gave him an out, and Carlton would usually have put up much more of a fight, but he gave his hands to Shawn and closed his eyes. He let him play out his ridiculous parlour trick. Purple plant, poison, microdosing in the tea. Got it. And Carlton went to make his arrest. And even though he had help, it still felt good, and it felt like he got his mojo back, or at least a pretty big piece of it. 

So yeah, once the case was closed he was feeling pretty good. About work, and even life in general. He even went back to the bar, he wasn’t sure why. He sat at the same table and ordered the same drink. The taste almost made him nauseous just from the memory. He switched to beer instead. 

“Lassie!”

Only this time, Carlton wasn’t surprised at Shawn’s presence. He’d invited him here. Carlton took another swig, losing a little bit of the bravado he’d had when he’d texted Shawn to meet him. 

Shawn was wearing a button up instead of the polo shirt. At least there would be no staring at his hemline today. Although the shirt seemed a little too tight, hugging the man’s frame, and the sleeves were rolled up to the elbow, showing off strong forearms. 

Carlton cleared his throat and loosened his tie. 

“Anyway, Spencer, I asked you here so I could say --” Carlton started, and paused as he found the words getting stuck in his throat. He took another sip of his beer. “Thank you.”

He noted the small, almost imperceptible twitch of Shawn’s eyebrows. “For what?” he asked with a laugh. 

Carlton rolled his eyes. “You know I’m a detective right? I’m not an idiot, even if all of you think I am. I know how much you helped with the case. And I just wanted you to know that I appreciate it.”

“Oh,” Shawn said, considering his words. “You’re welcome.” And Carlton didn’t think he’d ever heard Shawn sound so serious or sincere. There wasn’t an edge of sarcasm, even though Carlton was always looking for it. “And we don’t think you’re an idiot. We just wanted to help,” he added with a shrug. 

Carlton just nodded, taking another drink from the bottle so he didn’t have to say anything. 

He hadn’t really thought this through. He’d invited Shawn here pretty much just for that conversation. What were they supposed to do now?

Carlton really was an idiot. What did he think was going to happen? He wasn’t drunk enough now to let down his guard, and his sober brain certainly wasn’t going to let him say much more. He hadn’t thought of anything else to say. Hell he could have just thanked Shawn in a text and left it at that. 

“Anyway, I’m heading out,” Carlton said, putting some cash on the table from his wallet. 

“Wait, what?” Shawn said. 

“Have a good night, Spencer.” Carlton got up and walked out of the bar, feeling cowardice. 

The night was cool and Carlton took a big gulp of air as he left the bar, not realizing how warm it had been in there. It helped clear his mind as he began to walk home. 

“Lassie -- Carlton - wait!” Shawn’s voice was behind him. And then Shawn’s hand was around his wrist. “Are you mad that we lied to you? Or that we helped solve the case? I really can’t tell.”  
And wait a second, he wasn’t mad. Wasn’t sure how it had come across that way. He tried to think over the conversation they’d just had, but Shawn kept talking (as usual).

“But seriously. I’m sorry. I know that doesn’t make it better, but I just wanted to help. We… we just wanted to help.”

Carlton raised an eyebrow at that. Wondered if Shawn had to convince the others to go along with his plan. It seemed odd that Shawn would want to help him that much, would try so hard. 

“For the record, I’m not mad. I’m thankful. I thought I just told you that,” Carlton said. 

“Oh. But then why’d you just rush out on me like that?”

Carlton shrugged. He couldn’t very well explain what he was actually feeling, but he couldn’t come up with a good excuse either. 

“That’s what I wanted to say to you and I said it,” Carlton said. 

“Oh,” Shawn said. Carlton thought he sounded let down, but that couldn’t be right. “Okay. Well, hey don’t let me stop you.”

Carlton wasn’t the best with social cues or emotional awareness but it was hard for even him to miss the hurt in Shawn’s voice. But that didn’t mean he understood it. So instead he asked a question that was nagging in the back of his mind. 

“Why’d you do it? Why did you want to help me without me knowing?”

Shawn rolled his eyes and it was a whole body gesture. “Ugh! Why can’t anyone believe I am acting selflessly? I can just want to do a nice thing for someone sometimes.”

Carlton raised an eyebrow in question. 

“Gus asked the same thing,” Shawn explained. 

“And what did you tell him?” Carlton asked, getting more curious by the minute. Spencer was certainly acting a little strange about the whole thing. 

Shawn raked a hand through his hair, seeming torn. Perhaps debating between telling the truth or making some sort of spectacle to distract from the conversation. 

Carlton was expecting that Shawn would admit to having some ulterior motive, or that maybe he’d throw a smoke bomb on the ground and disappear or something. 

He was not expecting Shawn to cross the distance between them, put his hands on either side of Carlton’s face and kiss him. 

Carlton didn’t know why his first reaction was to put his hands on Shawn’s hips. Where he knew there were tan hip bones just above the line of denim. And he didn’t know why he didn’t push Shawn away, or why his fingers were gripped so tight, as if his body was afraid, rather than his mind, that Shawn might start to pull away. 

And he really couldn’’t believe that the moment was stretching out longer and longer. He couldn’t believe how warm Shawn’s mouth was, or that their lips were moving, tongues darting back and forth. And this seemed like a joke, a cosmic prank. Like Shawn would pull back and a group of people would be there to laugh at Carlton. 

The thought was so intrusive, he actually did push Shawn away slightly, but his hands were still gripped tight on his hips, not letting him get too far. 

He had to see Shawn’s face, he had to know what this meant. And Carlton actually looked around too. But the street was empty and quiet. The low rumble of music and voices from the bar was the only sound other than the slightly labored breathing from him and Shawn. 

He looked back at Shawn, who was watching him with some concern, hands gripped around the lapels of Carlton’s jacket. 

“What?” Shawn asked.

Carlton couldn’t help but laugh.

“What?” Shawn asked again, sounding more offended this time. 

Carlton suddenly regretted stopping them. Now it felt awkward. Like they had to talk about what this was, or what just happened at least. And it didn’t feel like he could just pick up where they left off. Or explain that -- well maybe that is one thing he could do. He was feeling all too brave again, but he liked this feeling. He felt sure of his footing, on solid ground. And it wasn’t usually like this, with other people. Even his ex-wife. He always thought that’s what love was, having someone keep you on your toes, making you feel unsteady. 

But this was different. Carlton felt grounded now, stronger than he had in a long time. 

“I just needed to check. To make sure this was real,” Carlton said sincerely. 

“Oh,” Shawn said. “Oh.” And it sounded like he understood. And Carlton almost laughed again, because he’d never heard the man say so few words. “Does this help?”

And Shawn brought their mouths together again, slower this time, and only for a couple of seconds. 

“Um… yes,” Carlton said decidedly. “I believe it does.”

“Okay,” Shawn replied.

The doors to the bar opened as someone exited, bringing a wave of sound and Shawn and Carlton both stepped a little further apart instinctually. 

Carlton immediately missed the warmth of Shawn in his hands. 

As the doors shut again, the cold wind started to seep in, beneath Carlton’s few layers of clothes. 

“So,” Shawn said, hands in his pockets now. 

“Yeah,” Carlton nodded. And this was the awkwardness he was dreading. He didn’t know how to do this. Didn’t even know what this was. But he knew he wasn’t about to let it go. He just had to figure out his footing again. 

“You live nearby right?” Shawn asked. 

“Yes,” Carlton said. 

“We could… hang out there?” Shawn suggested. 

“Right. Okay,” Carlton said, thankful Shawn was able to take the lead. He liked to think he would have, if only his brain wasn’t having such a hard time catching up with what was happening. 

Silently, they started to walk in the direction of Carlton’s apartment building. 

It took Carlton about a block for his brain to finally catch up and for him to finally get some nerve. His hands were on Shawn’s waist again, as he pushed him against the side of a building and kissed him again. 

When he pulled back, Shawn looked surprised. “Just had to check again,” Carlton said. 

Shawn nodded. “Sure, any time,” he said. Then he pulled Carlton in for another kiss. “As much as I like making out in dark alleys, a bed would be nice,” Shawn said once they broke apart again. 

“Right,” Carlton said. He was glad the shadow of night wouldn’t allow Shawn to see the colour rising in his cheeks. He cleared his throat. “Yeah, let’s go.”

He pulled away, pushing his hands into his pockets and clenching his fists to stop him from grabbing onto Shawn again. Carlton smiled to himself as they both walked a little faster than normal the rest of the way to his apartment building. 

Carlton bit his lip as they got onto the elevator and he tried to keep his hands to himself. Just another few minutes and they’d be in his apartment and he wouldn’t have to hold back. But apparently Shawn had other plans. He pushed Carlton against the wall of the elevator before the doors were even fully shut. 

In the back of his mind, Carlton worried about a neighbour getting on at one of the floors on the way up, but he didn’t care, and it didn’t happen anyway. They stumbled out of the doors, still kissing and groping and Shawn went the wrong direction at first and Carlton pulled him back the right way with strong hands guiding his hips.  
~*~  
Carlton didn’t need an alarm clock. His internal clock was perfectly attuned and woke him up at 5:30am every day. 

Today was just like any other. He got up, made coffee, grabbed the morning paper, and watched the sunrise through his balcony doors as he read the news.

The only difference was that today his leg wouldn’t stop bouncing while he tried to read the paper. He kept reading the same line over and over, not able to concentrate on the words. He got up and walked quietly to his bedroom and stood silently in the doorway. 

He chewed his lip nervously as he watched Shawn sleep, sprawled out on his stomach like a starfish. Carlton had woken up in a tangle of limbs, uncomfortably warm. He’d tried to start his day as usual, but found it impossible as his mind kept going back to the man he’d woken up to. He kept having to come back and check that he was still here. To see the proof of that the night before wasn’t some sort of fever dream. 

Carlton knew Shawn wasn’t drunk last night but still couldn’t get the thought out of his head that he might regret everything once he woke up. He worried that he might have somehow misread signals and that this somehow wasn’t what he thought it was. He decided he should try not to worry about it, at least until Shawn woke up. No point in thinking about it until then. 

“Stop watching me,” a muffled voice said. Shawn’s face was pressed down into a pillow. How the hell did he know Carlton was even there? “It’s creepy.”

Carlton stiffened, almost defensive, unsure how to respond. 

Shawn turned over onto his side, looking tired and a little on the cute side with his hair pointing 100 different directions. 

“C’mere,” Shawn said, patting the empty side of the bed. 

Carlton walked over carefully and sat down. He was feeling a little vulnerable in his boxers and t-shirt, wondering if he should have opted for more clothes this morning. 

But Shawn scooted closer, and nuzzled his face into Carlton’s side, wrapping an arm around him tightly in the process. 

“Spencer?” Carlton said quietly. “Shawn,” he said again. But either the man had fallen back asleep already, or was at least pretending. So Carlton gave up, resting back against the headboard, coffee and newspaper forgotten in the kitchen. 

Having his routine ruined for just one morning wasn’t so bad, he supposed.


End file.
